Following a jury trial, Roger Rucker appeals from his conviction for trafficking in cocaine. He contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress and that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. We agree and reverse.
1. Rucker first enumerates as error the denial of his motion to suppress.
While the trial court’s findings as to disputed facts in a ruling on a motion to suppress will be reviewed to determine whether the ruling was clearly erroneous, where the evidence is uncontroverted and no question regarding the credibility of witnesses is presented, the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts is subject to de novo appellate review.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.)
Vansant v. State,
Rucker argues that because the tipster’s reliability was unknown, the information he provided to the officer was insufficient to support a stop of his vehicle. An officer may stop a person to conduct a brief investigation if specific, articulable facts give rise to a reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct.
Terry v. Ohio,
Although a tip provided by an informant of unknown reliability will not ordinarily create a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, if the tip is detailed enough to provide some basis for predicting the future behavior of the suspect, reliability may be established if the details are corroborated by the observations of the police.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.)
Wright v. State,
The State argues that the tipster in this case is a concerned citizen, and that this tip is therefore deemed to be reliable. See
Hudson v. State,
The trial court erred in failing to suppress evidence seized in the wake of the invalid stop of Rucker’s vehicle.
2. As we have held in Division 1 that the trial court erred in denying Rucker’s motion to suppress, his conviction for trafficking in cocaine was not authorized by the evidence and must be reversed. See
Mercer v. State,
Judgment reversed.
